26 Weeks Pregnant: Your Baby at 26 Weeks

You’re not the only one packing on the pounds…your baby’s busily gaining, too! This week, your bun-in-the oven tips the scales at about 2 pounds! Their brain growth is also zooming along and will be 500% bigger by their birth day.

Your baby-to-be's eyes are finally ready to open, but they're still closed a lot because Baby is snoozing away for a big chunk of the day. If you’re wondering what color those peepers might be, the answer is probably blue. Although many babies are born with brown eyes, some initially have blue eyes...even though their final eye color will eventually be brown. Adult eye color can take about six months to reveal itself. That’s because light exposure triggers the production of melanin.

26 Weeks Pregnant Is How Many Months?

26 weeks along is about 6 months pregnant.

Baby’s Size

At 26 weeks your baby can have a fair fight with…a cocktail shaker.

26 Weeks Pregnant: What to Expect

Get ready to see your doctor or midwife…a lot more often! Early in pregnancy, the visits are usually monthly. But, soon, you’ll be heading in every two weeks for a quick check of your blood pressure, urine, and a laundry list of possible warning signs (from headache to excessive swelling to trouble sleeping).

A key reason for this increased scrutiny is a common condition called preeclampsia. About 10% of moms-to-be develop this in the later months of pregnancy. The symptoms include sudden swelling (not just in your feet and legs, but also in your face), severe and/or persistent headaches, blurry vision, high blood pressure, dizziness, pain near your liver, nausea, vomiting, and too much protein in your urine.

Preeclampsia can also affect your baby. It can cause the placental arteries to clamp down, making it harder for blood to carry food and oxygen to your baby.

Left untreated, preeclampsia can become a very serious problem. So, if you have any of these symptoms, call your care provider right away. If you do have it, they will discuss the best way to keep both you and baby as healthy as possible. For less severe cases, you’ll be taking it easy, meditating and coming in for frequent checks of your blood pressure and pee and tests of your baby's activity, well-being, and growth. Moms-to-be with more severe symptoms may require in-hospital monitoring and treatment.

26 Week Pregnant Symptoms

Common symptoms during your 26th week of pregnancy include:

26 Weeks Pregnant: To-Do List

  • Put the nursery together: If your baby furniture requires assembly, it’s time to break out the screwdriver and Allen wrench. It’s fine to set up the crib, too, but the AAP advises that your baby sleep in your room for at least the first 6 months. That means you’ll want a bassinet. (We’re kinda partial, but we love Happiest Baby’s SNOO. It adds 1 to 2 hours to baby—and parent—sleep and keeps babies sleeping on their backs.) You may want a rocker or glider, a diaper pail, a hamper, and a fan as well. Think about storage for tiny clothes, swaddles and bibs, lotions, wipes, and diapers. Make sure the room has curtains, blinds or black-out shades to help your baby be that great napper you’re hoping for!

  • Pre-register at the hospital: If you are giving birth in a hospital that allows for pre-registry, this is a good way to cut down on the all the paperwork required upon admission (some hospitals even let you pre-register online). Print out your pre-registration paperwork to pack in your hospital bag.

  • Brew some red raspberry leaf tea: Red raspberry leaf tea is packed with nutrients like vitamin C, magnesium, iron and potassium, and its use is encouraged by naturopaths to help tone and strengthen the uterus.

  • Build a labor playlist: Well, actually make that two playlists: One that’s calming and will help you relax (hello, Enya!), and another that’ll pump you up while you push. Whether it’s Beyoncé's “Run the World(Girls)”, the Rocky theme song, or Salt n Pepa’s maybe too on-the-nose “Push It,” choose tracks that’ll get you going!

Quote of the Week

"In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within ourselves." —Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn

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About Dr. Harvey Karp

Dr. Harvey Karp, one of America’s most trusted pediatricians, is the founder of Happiest Baby and the inventor of the groundbreaking SNOO Smart Sleeper. After years of treating patients in Los Angeles, Dr. Karp vaulted to global prominence with the release of the bestselling Happiest Baby on the Block and Happiest Toddler on the Block. His celebrated books and videos have since become standard pediatric practice, translated into more than 20 languages and have helped millions of parents. Dr. Karp’s landmark methods, including the 5 S’s for soothing babies, guide parents to understand and nurture their children and relieve stressful issues, like new-parent exhaustion, infant crying, and toddler tantrums.

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Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider.